One-on-One: Who will be the NBA MVP?

By Alex Ross & Chris Kwiecinski on November 1, 2013

Kevin Durant

Predicting a MVP for the NBA this season is not a challenge. There are two players that are far and away better than everyone else. Those two being LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
You could make a case for either one of them, but when it’s all said and done Durant is going to be the league MVP this season.
Durant displayed how good he is in the first game of the year Wednesday night. He dropped 42 points on the Jazz and the Thunder won the game. This is all without one of the Thunder’s best players, Russell Westbrook.
All the attention is on Durant but he is still unstoppable. We’re talking about a guy who averaged 28 points and eight rebounds a season ago. That’s unbelievable.
James might be the best player in the world, but no one carries their team like Durant. LeBron has Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh as his side kicks. Without Westbrook, Durant has no one.
I have the utmost respect for LeBron, but Durant should win the MVP this season just based on that fact. Especially, if he leads the Thunder to the NBA Finals, which very could happen. Sorry LeBron, your time as MVP is over. It’s Durant’s turn to win it this year and in the years to come.

-Alex Ross

LeBron James

In the 2000’s, the NBA MVP award was a toss up between a lot of good players. The would-be-MVPs from that decade are now considered old, washed up or soon to be retired. Now there are only a select few players that are being considered for the award, and only one that really takes it home.
That would be LeBron James.
While many may not love LeBron as a player, there is no argument against him being the best in the world. When James was in Cleveland, he couldn’t win the big game. That’s simply because he wasn’t in his prime. As of now in South Beach, he’s 28, hitting his prime and almost unstoppable. LeBron scores 25 plus points nightly, while also averaging seven assists and eight rebounds per game. And those averages still don’t describe the kind of impact he brings to the game.
The only person that even comes close to James in the voting is Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who’s amazing scoring still can’t match James’ domination both sides of the court. While the Jordan and LeBron comparisons still circulate, they can’t undermine the one certain truth: LeBron is the NBA’s MVP and the best player in the world.